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January 6, 2011

Crawford, Being Told Of Sox Offer: "I Almost Got Into A Wreck On The Freeway"

[My agent] Brian Peters called me, and he said, "All right, if the figures are the same, where do you want to go?" I'm thinking nothing of this call. I'm just driving on the freeway. I said, "Man, to be honest with you, B.P., if everything was the same, I think I'd rather go to Boston." He said, "Really?" That's how he said it. "Really?" I said, "B.P., if you look at it, look at the team they have, look at the situation, the Green Monster, everything is pointing my way. ... I don't think there's a better situation out there. I know it's cold [in April and October], but I think we'll overcome that. ...

And he said, "Well, I'm glad to hear that because that's where you're going." I was like, "Oh really?" and he said, "Yeah, you're going to Boston," and I was like, "Shoot, let's go." ... Then, he told me the dollar amount, and I almost got into a wreck on the freeway.

Crawford said his decision to come to Boston was influenced by Victor Martinez:

I was talking to Victor Martinez at the [2010] All-Star Game. I was like, "How you like Boston?" I didn't know I'd be in Boston. I was just asking him. He was like, "C, man, I don't care if you're tired, you could be feeling as bad as you could possibly feel, but when you run out on that field and those people are screaming, it's like you don't have a pain or nothing in your body. It's like you're a new person."

The Red Sox claimed former Rangers C/DH/1B Max Ramirez off waivers. You probably last heard Ramirez's name when he was part of the proposed December 2009 deal that would have sent Mike Lowell to Texas. Ramirez doesn't project to much more than a backup, but he's free. Matt Fox was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster.

Boston also signed right-handed relief pitcher Tony Pena Jr. to a minor league contract. Pena, a light-hitting shortstop who switched to pitching in 2009, was with the Giants' AA and AAA teams last year.

If you are interested: Herald columnist Steve Buckley is gay. He notes this fact in the 9th paragraph of his column, admitting that he has "buried the lead". Buckley, who has been writing for the Herald for 15 years, and his editors should know the correct term is "lede".

24 comments:

Not interesting in itself, but very interesting because the more people who come out, the better - especially in sports-related work.

Some of the comments on that column are (of course) horrible, but I especially dislike the one that claims "there is no 'gay community' in Boston" and that Buckley should just shut up about his orientation the way heteros do. Oh yes, heterosexual men are well known for never mentioning their heterosexuality! No gay community???

Cool that he came out publicly. I hope he gets lots of support, despite his crappy work.

Someone in the SoSH thread noted that most of the comments were positive or of a "who cares?" variety.

They are, but "who cares" can be a way of expressing bigotry. You know, the white-male-hetero-christian thing of claiming any other identity group is making too big a deal of their difference. Why do you different people have to make such a big deal over being different? Just be "normal" like us.

I echo Laura's comments: some might not see this as a big deal in 2011, but it is. Being open about your homosexuality is not about drawing attention to yourself. It's about being yourself. It saddens me how many people don't understand that.

Cool that he came out publicly. I hope he gets lots of support, despite his crappy work.

I especially dislike the one that claims ... Buckley should just shut up about his orientation the way heteros do.

I am going to go out on a limb and bet that there were not similar comments when Amalie Benjamin announced that she was moving from being a beat writer to a general columnist in part because she was getting married.

laura k said...Someone in the SoSH thread noted that most of the comments were positive or of a "who cares?" variety.

They are, but "who cares" can be a way of expressing bigotry.

It can, my first thought was who cares......He can do whatever he wants , I won't judge him for that , but to say I care whether Steve Buckley is gay , when I don't , I don't think that makes me a bigot ......Peoples sexual preference has never been an issue for me.

And I am a white-male-hetero-sexual-christian.......and your comment seems rather judgemental.

Well, Laura said that "who cares" could be a way of expressing bigotry -- and gave the example "Why do you different people have to make such a big deal over being different?" -- not that it was necessarily so.

It's always good when someone in the public eye can come out and say they are part of a group that many people hate. And being honest with yourself and presenting yourself honestly to the world is good.

But I agree with you, 9c: at the end of the day, I don't care or worry too much about Steve Buckley. He certainly did not suddenly become intelligent about baseball and worth reading.

I agree with 9C and Allan in the sense that it doesn't make any difference what this writer's sexual orientation is.

As Allan says above, I didn't say "who cares" = bigotry. The "who cares" that I read as a form of ignorance and bigotry - or at the very least, a stubborn refusal to empathize - reads as I mentioned in my initial comment.

I'll quote an exact comment on Buckley's column:

If it makes you feel better - more honest - great. But really, SO? There is no Boston "gay community". Each person is different - themselves. So just go about your life and do your job and keep it to yourself like your hetero friends do. You're out. Now let it go.

"Let it go?" I highly doubt Buckley will ever harp on this, he'll probably never mention it again, and the column is very understated.

"Keep it to yourself like your hetero friends do?" Hetero people do not keep their orientation "to themselves". They mention their wives and bachelor parties and how hot Heidi looks, etc. etc. And they never have to think about it, b/c they're part of the majority.

People who aren't part of the majority need community, for many reasons. This commenter either refuses to understand that or wants to pretend it isn't so.

And... although I don't care if Steve Buckley is gay, I care very much about his coming out, because I care deeply about equal rights, and every coming out helps.